October
OctoberNever on a Wednesday
I find it hard to understand why the Melbourne Racing Club chooses to run one of its best Group 1 races, the Thousand Guineas, on a quiet little Wednesday program half full of restricted races, before a small crowd.
Apart from the VRC spring carnival, where the Tuesday is a unique social event propped up by one great race, it has become the thing for metropolitan racing clubs not to conduct Group 1 races on public holidays or midweek.
Brisbane is the latest to follow this trend, with the major races on its Queen’s Birthday Monday transferred to the Saturday. (Also, Easter Monday in Sydney is nothing like it was.)
The Thousand Guineas obviously should be run on Caulfield Cup day. It has in the past been run then, and added a lot to the day.
It has always had a Melbourne-Sydney flavour to it and is arguably the most prestigious race of the season for three-year-old fillies.
I believe that the MRC is treating one of its jewels very shabbily. If it must have a midweek meeting between the Caulfield Guineas and the cup, that’s okay, but please don’t sacrifice one of the club’s best races to achieve that.
If run on Caulfield Cup day, the Thousand Guineas would occur 14 days after the Manifold Stakes and Flight Stakes and 14 days before the Wakeful — perfect placing, I think.
I am pleading with the Melbourne Racing Club to give the Thousand Guineas the respect it deserves.
Franston South (Vic)